Cigarette moistener



May 16, BURBiG CIGARETTE MOISTENER Filed Aug. 31, 1964 INVENTOR. His-Way dl/fiB/G c 3,319,632 United States Patent Ofifice Patented May 1 ,1967

3,319,632 CIGARETTE MOISTENER Henry Burbig, 1519 Metropolitan Ave, New York, N.Y. 10062 Filed Aug. 31, 1964, Ser. No. 393,148 3 Claims. (Cl. 131133) My present invention relates to a cigarette moistener device and more particularly to a device for moistening the interior of the filter tip of a cigarette. My device is so arranged that it may readily be carried in the pocket or purse of the user and provide a suflicient volume of liquid to moisten a large number of cigarette filter tips. Since only two or three drops of water are necessary for the moistening operation, the moistener container for my device may itself be as small as the cigarette or even smaller.

In the development of a body of literature relating to deleterious effects of cigarette smoke and cigarette products, a great deal of study has been given to filter tip construction and various types of filters have been made and used. However, it has been found that the efiicient action of any filter in trapping cigarette products and deleterious elements of the smoke would be greatly enhanced by the utilization of a wet filter. As a practical matter, the process of manufacturing and packaging cigarettes and the necessity for storing cigarettes for varying periods of time have militated against the use of any wet type of filter.

My invention contemplates a moistening device wherein a small moistener container is topped by a receptacle adapted to receive a filter tip of a cigarette. The receptacle is provided with a hollow needle extending axially thereof and with a number of openings in the side of the hollow needle; the hollow needle extends into the moistener container. Where the moistener container is a squeeze bottle with resilent sides, the insertion of the filter tip into the receptacle and squeezing the sides of the moistener container will result in impregnating the filter tip with moisture; the utilization of a hollow needle of greatly restricted diameter will meter the amount of moisture thus expressed on a single squeeze.

A primary object of my invention therefore is the provision of a novel device for moistening the filter tip of a cigarette. The foregoing and many other objects of my invention will become apparent in the following description and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view and perspective of one form my novel filter tip moistener may take.

, FIGURE 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the filter tip moistener of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a modified form of the filter tip moistener.

FIGURE 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of another modified form of the filter tip moistener.

FIGURE 5 is an elevation partially in cross-section of a further modification of my filter tip moistener.

FIGURE 5a is a sectional view taken on line 5a5a of FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 6 is a view in perspective of another modified form of my filter tip moistener closely related, however, both in structure and operation to the device shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURES 7 and 8 are vertical cross-sectional views of the filter tip moistener of FIGURE 6.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 2, my novel filter tip moistener comprises a container 10, the Walls of which in this form are made of resilient material so that when the walls are squeezed toward each other they will resume their initial shape following relaxation of the squeeze. The upper end of container 10 is provided with screw threads 11 to receive'cap 12, the flange 13 of which is also provided with matching screw threads to engage the threads 11. An appropriate washer or other gasket may be provided between the upper edge of container 10 and the cap 12, or the interior surface of the cap 12 may itself be sufliciently resilient to provide the washer or gasket operation. The cap 12 is provided with a receptacle 15 which may be integral therewith, the said receptacle being partially recessed within the cap 12 as shown in FIGURE 2 thereby limiting the portion of the receptacle which extends beyond the top of cap 12. The receptacle 15 may be completely recessed or partially recessed as shown in FIGURE 2. It may also extend entirely above the top of cap 12 as shown in the later described modified form of FIGURES 6, 7 and 8.

The receptacle 15 has a bottom wall 16 and an open top and is provided with a hollow needle 18. The hollow needle 18 extends at 22 below the bottom of wall 16 of the receptacle 15 where it is connected to a flexible extension tube 23 extending toward the bottom 24 of container 10. It will now be seen that when the filter tip of a cigarette is fully inserted in receptacle 15, the needle 18 penetrates the filter tip. When, thereafter, the bottle 10 is squeezed, moisture will be forced through the tube 23, the lower end 22 of the needle and the hollow needle 18 and the moisture may exit through openings 20 and 21 into the filter tip. The needle 18 is of such diameter that it in effect provides for a metered flow of the fluid.

I have found that the utilization of four openings 21 in the needle is suflicient to provide a proper dispersion of the fluid in the filter tip. Only two or three drops of fluid are needed to properly moisten the filter tip.

The user may find after withdrawing the filter tip from the receptacle 15 that the filter tip appears to be dry; therefore, the feel of the cigarette and the apparent smoking qualities of the cigarette will not be changed or impaired by the absorption of moisture by the filter. The user will also find that should be blow into the filter prior to lighting the cigarette, the moisture injected into the filter tip of the cigarette will be spread more widely in the filter and may even on a strong blow be expressed slightly into the end of the cigarette tobacco adjacent the filter. This provides for additional filter surface since the moistening of the particles of cigarette tobacco adja cent the filter make these particles, in effect, also a filter.

My novel cigarette moistener may readily be carried in the pocket or purse. It may actually be even shorter than the cigarette itself and in the form shown in FIG- URES 1 and 2 only slightly larger in diameter than the cigarette itself. There is no danger of leakage in the pocket or purse since even on an accidental squeeze of the container 10, the needle itself acts as a metering device tending to restrict the flow of moisture to two 01' three drops which will settle and cling by surface tension of the interior of the receptacle 15.

In FIGURES 6, 7 and 8, I have shown a slightly modified and perhaps preferable construction of the moistening device in FIGURES l and 2. In this case, the container is provided with a cap 112 having the filter ti receptacle 115. All other elements of the device are identical with that shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 including the hollow needle 118 having the point 119, end opening 120 and the additional opening 121 as well as the dip tube 123 extending from the lower extension 122 of the needle 118. In this case, the bottom 116 of the cigarette filter tip receptacle is even with and actually forms the top of the cap 112, so that the receptacle projects entirely beyond the container 110. However, the container 111i is substantially of the same diameter as the cigarette filter tip receptacle 115, so that the entire moistening device of FIGURES 6, 7 and 8 has a size and 3 dimension substantially equivalent to the diameter of a cigarette; it may be of any length desired and may simulate a cigarette in appearance.

The operation is the same as that described in connection with FIGURES 1 and 2. A cigarette having a filter tip 31 is inserted, as shown by comparison of FIGURES 7 and 8, into the receptacle 115 where the hollow needle 118 penetrates the filter tip 31 and the openings 120 and 121 are received within the interior of the filter tip 31. Thereaften'a squeeze of the sides of the container 110 will cause the fluid in the container 110 to be expressed through the openings 120 and 121 into the filter tip 31, thereby moistening the filter.

-In FIGURE 3, I have shown a modification of the structure of FIGURES 1 and 2 in which the moistener container 210, made again of resilient material, is provided with a resilient bellows'construction 240 adjacent its lower end. The other elements including the cigarette receptacle 215, the cap 212, the needle 218 and the dip tube 223 operate in exactly the manner described for correspondingly referenced elements in FIGURES 1 and 2. In this device, the utilization of resilient material for the container 210 and the bellows element 240 makes it possible to express fluid from the container 210 up through the needle 218 merely by pressing down on the container 210, thereby collapsing the bellows slightly in order to express fluid through the hollow needle 218 and into the filter tip.

It should be noted that the resistance to full compression of the bellows 240 by a single downward thrust is resisted by the hollow needle 218, since its small diameter restricts the amount of fluid which may be expressed on a single thrust. Therefore, a slight downward movement of the container 210 and a slight compression of the bellows 240 will express the two or three drops of moisture that are needed to provide the appropriate moistening of the filter tip of the cigarette and no more.

It will be understood in all of the devices herein shown that after the initial squeeze and on withdrawal of the filter tip of the cigarette, the opening of the hollow needle to atmosphere will permit air to drain back into the container 10, 110 or 210 in order to replace the volume of fluid which has been expressed and thereby make it possible for the squeezed container to operate repeatedly until the fluid level is below the lower end of the dip tube 23, 123 or 223.

In FIGURES 5 and 5a, I have shown a modified form of the construction of the devices of FIGURES 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8. In this case, the container 310 is shown as having a generally elliptical section with round parallel sides 350 and flat squeeze sides 351. The cigarette filter tip receptacle 315 is provided with a pressure fitting 352, which may be forced resiliently into the recess 353 of the cover 315 of the receptacle 310. The pressure fitting 352 is topped by a plug 316, which forms the bottom of the receptacle 315. The hollow needle 318 passes through the plug 316 and into the body of the receptacle 310 below the top 315 thereof and has a dip tube 323 connected thereto. The operation of the device is identical with that already described in FIGURES 1, 2, 6, 7 and 8. A squeeze of the container 310 will express moisture through the hollow needle 318 into the cigarette filter tip which is placed therein.-

The pressure fitting herein described is a substitute for the screw-thread arrangement of the devices described in connection with FIGURES 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8, and obviates the need for any gasketing or washer which may be required where a screw-thread fitting is needed.

It will be obvious in each of the devices thus far described that the entire cap 12, 112, 212 and 352 may be removed from the container 310 in order to permit restoration of the fluid which has been used up.

In FIGURE 4, I have shown a further modification ShOWing how a pumping device of any type may be utilized instead of the squeeze-bottle arrangement. The

container 410 of FIGURE 4 may be made of rigid material although the utilization of resilient material is not ruled out. The cap 412, the receptacle 415, the needle 418, the dip tube 423 all operate in the manner described for the correspondingly numbered elements in FIGURES 1 and 2. In the case of FIGURE 4, however, a pressure bulb 460 is inserted in the side of the container being sealed at its point of entry. The bulb 460 may be made of rubber or any other material having equivalent resilience.

Bulb 460 is provided with a plurality of slits 463 on its inner end 464. The slits 463 owing to the tension of the material remain closed under normal operating C0111 ditions. When the bulb 460 is squeezed, the quantity of air in the bulb exits through the slits 463 into the interior of the container 410, thereby providing the addi-. tional increase in pressure which is required to express fluid from the interior of container 410 up through the hollow needle 418 to moisten the filter tip of the cigarette. Forpractical purposes, it does not matter whether the bulb 460 and its end 464 enter the container above or below the water level as long as the lower end of dip tube 423 extends below the water level, since the increase in pressure in the container whether of air or of liquid will provide the necessary driving force to express the fluid.

In order to permit the bulb 460 to be recharged with air, a small opening 470 is provided therein so that the resilience of the bulb as it re-expands after having been squeezed will permit the air to flow in through the open-. ing 470. The slits 463 are closed on the relaxation of the squeezing force on the bulb, so that fluid cannot reenter the bulb 460 through the slits 463. The opening 470 is so placed that it will normally be closed by the fingers when the bulb 460 is pressed. Should the operator accidentally not close the opening 470 when his fingers press the bulb, he will quickly find that it is necessary to do so in order to effect appropriate operation of the device and may, of course, be provided with instructions telling him to do so. 7

I have also found it desirable to provide a minute pinhole 472 in the cap 412 at the top of the container to provide internal pressure relief. In the operation of my device of the form of FIGURE 4, the squeezing of the bulb will provide pressure to express the two or three drops of fluid required. Thereafter, there may be a slightly elevated pressure in the interior of the container which will cause a slow expression of an additional drop of moisture after the initial operation. The utilization of the small pinhole 472 provides means whereby such pressure may be drained otf as escaping air. The pinhole 472 is sufficiently small so that water or other liquids used for moistening may not escape therethrough; but suflicient air will escape through the pinhole 472 to permit the equalization of pressure to occur. V

In the construction of FIGURE 4, I have shown the utilization of one form of a pump simply to show that in addition to or instead of the resilient wall type of device, other means may be used to express the fluid.

Following the making of my invention, I considered the following prior US. patents:

2,250,452, T. W. Alm, Cigar Piercing Machine; 2,333,049, S. B. Shapiro, Cigarette Flavoring Means; 2,893,402, G. F. Pinsuit, Smokers Filter;

1,298,415, L. A. Smith, Humidor;

1,904,814, A. Anzelewitz, Cigar and Cigarette Holder;

1,648,655, A. W. C. Menzies, Device for Treating Cigars,

Cigarettes and the Like;

1,826,331, I. Traube, Methodlof Doing Away With the Nicotine and the Methylalcohol When Smoking Tobacco, and

3,125,100, I. J any, Filter Cartridge for Cigarette Holders,

but I found that none of this prior art has suggested the structure or operation of my invention.

In the foregoing, I have described my invention solely in connection with preferred illustrative embodiments thereof. Since many variations and modifications of my invention will now be obvoius to those skilled in the art, I prefer not to be bound by the specific disclosures herein contained but only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A cigarette moistening device comprising a container for liquid;

an opening for said container;

a cap covering said opening;

said cap being provided with a well-like receptacle;

the axis of said receptacle being normal to the plane of said opening;

a hollow needle mounted on the bottom surface of said receptacle, parallel to the axis of said receptacle and extending above and below said bottom surface;

and means for forcing liquid from said container through said hollow needle;

said receptacle being shaped and adapted to receive an end of a cigarette with said hollow needle entering the cigarette end;

said hollow needle having a plurality of openings along that portion of its side that extends into said receptacle;

said means for forcing liquid from the container through said hollow needle comprising a pump having a flexible pressure bulb extending in sealed relationship through one wall of the container;

that portion of the bulb which extends within the confines of the container being provided with a plurality of slits normally closed, which are opened under the application of pressure on the bulb portion exterior of the chamber, to permit the passage of air, under pressure, into said container.

2. A cigarette moistener device as set forth in claim 1,

further including:

a small opening in that portion of the bulb which extends exterior of the container, to permit the ingress of air for restablishing the normal expanded condition of the bulb after the application of a pressure input.

3. A cigarette moistener as set forth in claim 1, further including:

an internal pressure relief opening, said opening of a size to prevent the escape of liquid from said container while permitting pressure equalization.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 740,152 9/1903 Lynch. 2,687,727 8/1954 LaWshe 128216 2,911,972 11/1959 Elinger 128-216 FOREIGN PATENTS 497,430 9/ 1919 France. 262,003 12/ 1926 Great Britain.

SAMUEL KOREN, Primary Examiner.

30 MELVIN D. REIN, Examiner. 

1. A CIGARETTE MOISTENING DEVICE COMPRISING A CONTAINER FOR LIQUID; AN OPENING FOR SAID CONTAINER; A CAP COVERING SAID OPENING; SAID CAP BEING PROVIDED WITH A WALL-LIKE RECEPTACLE; THE AXIS OF SAID RECEPTACLE BEING NORMAL TO THE PLANE OF SAID OPENING; A HOLLOW NEEDLE MOUNTED ON THE BOTTOM SURFACE OF SAID RECEPTACLE, PARALLEL TO THE AXIS OF SAID RECEPTACLE AND EXTENDING ABOVE AND BELOW SAID BOTTOM SURFACE; AND MEANS FOR FORCING LIQUID FROM SAID CONTAINER THROUGH SAID HOLLOW NEEDLE; SAID RECEPTACLE BEING SHAPED AND ADAPTED TO RECEIVE AN END OF A CIGARETTE WITH SAID HOLLOW NEEDLE ENTERING THE CIGARETTE END; SAID HOLLOW NEEDLE HAVING A PLURALITY OF OPENINGS ALONG THAT PORTION OF ITS SIDE THAT EXTENDS INTO SAID RECEPTACLE; SAID MEANS FOR FORCING LIQUID FROM THE CONTAINER THROUGH SAID HOLLOW NEEDLE COMPRISING A PUMP HAVING A FLEXIBLE PRESSURE BULB EXTENDING IN SEALED RELATIONSHIP THROUGH ONE WALL OF THE CONTAINER; THAT PORTION OF THE BULB WHICH EXTENDS WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE CONTAINER BEING PROVIDED WITH A PLURALITY OF SLITS NORMALLY CLOSED, WHICH ARE OPENED UNDER THE APPLICATION OF PRESSURE ON THE BULB PORTION EXTERIOR OF THE CHAMBER, TO PERMIT THE PASSAGE OF AIR, UNDER PRESSURE, INTO SAID CONTAINER. 